Staff

Chris Young
Director

Chris Young is entering his seventh season as the head coach of the Oklahoma State women’s tennis program. After spending five years as the Wichita State Director of Tennis, Young returned six seasons ago to his home state where he competed as a collegian and began his coaching career.

A native of Norman, Okla., Young has compiled a career record of 276-154, directing the OSU women and the men’s and women’s programs at both Wichita State and his alma mater, Oklahoma Christian. Young now holds an 86-56 record with the Cowgirls.

Under Young, the Cowgirls have made four-straight trips to the NCAA tournament and two appearances in the Big 12 finals. In 2015, the Cowgirls made their first appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 since 1996.

During Young’s six years at Oklahoma State, he has overseen eight Academic All-Big 12 selections, two ITA Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award Recipients, two ITA Rookie of the Year selections, a Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and most recently, the 2015 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and 2015 Big 12 Player of the Year.

Under his direction in 2014, Oklahoma State saw its first women’s tennis All-American since 1991 in Viktoriya Lushkova. In 2015, Lushkova repeated the honor, making her the first Cowgirl since the 1986 and 1987 seasons to earn two singles All-America honors. She is also just the second Cowgirl to accomplish the feat.

During the 2015 season, OSU’s women’s program rose to new heights, finishing the season 23-6. The Cowgirls took down 14 ranked opponents and notched 15 shutout wins. The stellar season earned the Cowgirls their fourth-straight trip to the NCAA championships and the privilege to host the first and second rounds for the first time on the OSU campus. A heroic showing by the Pokes advanced them to the Sweet 16, where they faced a tough Florida team and fell. Throughout the season, Young saw his squad rise to No. 8 in the ITA polls, the highest ranking in program history. He also saw Lushkova earn the highest singles ranking at No. 10. She paired up with Miami transfer Kelsey Laurente to become the nation’s No. 3 doubles team at one point, also breaking a school rankings record.

That year, Lushkova and Katarina Adamovic were named All-Big 12 singles selections and the Lushkova/Laurente duo and Adamovic/Babic duos were named All-Big 12 doubles selections. Lushkova and Carla Tur-Mari were labeled as Academic All-Big 12 selections as well.

Young earned accolades for himself as he was named the 2015 ITA Central Region Head Coach of the Year.

Jay Udwadia
Co Director

Jay Udwadia, who was hired as the Cowboys' head coach on June 6, 2012, enters his fourth year at the helm of the Cowboy Tennis program with multiple NCAA berths, two All-Americans and one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history already in hand.

In only three seasons with Oklahoma State, Udwadia has revitalized the Cowboy tennis program and turned it into one of the country's rising collegiate tennis powers. He led the Pokes to 22 wins in his second season, the team's most since a 14-win campaign in 2009.

In 2015, he helped the Cowboys race out to a 15-3 start. During that run, OSU took down eight ranked opponents, including road victories against No. 17 Tennessee and No. 34 SMU. The Cowboys are currently ranked #5 in the nation in 2016, the highest ranking in program history. Coach Udwadia has coached Arjun Kadhe and Jacob Sude to All American status and the duo reached the semifinals of the NCAA National Championships. Prior to beginning the turnaround at Oklahoma State, Udwadia served eight seasons as the Fresno State men's tennis coach, and spent the year before as the head coach at Drake. His overall record of 179-98 includes a 2004 Missouri Valley Championship and consecutive Western Athletic Conference titles in 2011 and 2012.

Outside of the collegiate circuit, Udwadia coached the New York Buzz of the World Team Tennis league from 2008-2010. The WTT is a professional tennis league founded by tennis legend Billie Jean King. In 2008, he guided the Buzz to their first and only World Team Tennis title championship. During his time with WTT, Udwadia coached five-time grand slam champion, Martina Hingis. He also coached the USTA Boys 18's National Team Event, representing the NorCal Section.